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TIE Pilot
TIE Pilots serve in the Imperial Navy primarily by piloting the various TIE-series starfighters, however they can be called upon to pilot other starfighters or vessels as necessity and training allow. They are known pejoratively as "bucketheads" by Rebel and Republic pilots, due to their bulky, fully enclosed helmets. Within the Imperial forces they are often called "coffin jockeys", due to the statistically high mortality rate of those manning the vulnerable TIE fighters. Despite these terms, TIE pilots represent the elite of the Imperial Navy, having undergone grueling physical and psychological conditioning to achieve their ranks. An elite corps, only 10 percent of TIE pilot candidates ever successfully navigate the intense training and testing of the Imperial Navy. The rest are reassigned throughout the Navy as combat gunners, crewmen, and other personnel. Grand Admiral James Ardin, one of the most successful and respected regents of the Empire, started his career as a TIE pilot. =Training= Drawing from the graduates of Imperial academies, the fleet conditions their best prospects to be fanatically loyal to the Empire and willing to sacrifice their lives to complete their assigned missions. Prior to the Battle of Endor, to ingrain the concept of placing mission and Empire above self, TIE pilots' names were replaced with identification numbers (such as DS-61-2) and were subjected to continual reminders of their craft's lack of integrated life-support system and combat deflector shields. These practices were eventually dropped as the lives of the pilots became more valuable. At the height of the Galactic Empire, the Imperial Navy had countless Academy graduates and clones at its disposal. However, after the Battle of Endor, the Empire was forced to be conservative with the lives of the TIE pilots due to their decreasing numbers, and a concerted effort was made to increase their survivability by adding shields to older TIE models or replacing them with advanced models like the TIE Avenger or the TIE Defender. =Duties= Much of a TIE pilot's time is spent in a TIE cockpit on patrol duty. To a TIE pilot, the success of a mission often eclipses personal safety and even the safety of fellow wingmen. With the exception of top performers, pilots are generally not allowed to use a vehicle more than once, though this practice has declined as the number of available ships has began to decrease. As a result of these early measures, TIE pilots tend to develop little or no attachment to a particular craft as their counterparts in other navies do. This mindset helps to enforce the pilots' view of themselves as a part of the Imperial war machine. =Uniform and Equipment= TIE pilots are equipped with black uniforms, a black helmet, and a life support chest piece with breather tubes to provide necessary gases. The helmet design is purposefully reminiscent of Stormtrooper armor, with a few notable distinctions. The shell is bulkier to reinforce padding and internal pilot-to-ship communications equipment. Additional modifications enable the pilot to survive in the cockpit's vacuum. Breather tubes extend from the helmet to the front of the chest plate, where controls for the suit's portable life support system are located. The actual supply of oxygen is built into the rectangular back plate of the armor. Because the odds of surviving a crash in a TIE starfighter tend to be slim, TIE pilots are rarely equipped with emergency rations or supplies. Some carry a personal sidearm for reasons that are largely seen as ceremonial, but they are trained to use them against opposing forces that might attack TIE pilots before they can take off. =Sources= *Wookieepedia Category:Imperial Military Units